National Medal Of Honor Day, Yakima Honors Own

At 10:00 AM on the 25th of March 2012 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Post 379 will be holding an observance at the graveside of SSG Jack Pendleton at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima. This grave is located behind the Mausoleum and is marked by only a small LED installed last year. Please contact Dan Hillman, Post Commander via email at m167a1@gmail.com or 509.969.3196 for more information.

His squad was working its way through the streets of Brandenburg Germany. Their line of advance was blocked by a well cited defensive position that included at least one machine gun.As Pendleton slowly led his squad forward, he was shot in the leg and seriously wounded.

Telling his men to stay where they were, he continued forward alone, armed with hand grenades. By deliberately diverting the attention of the enemy machine gunners, Pendleton allowed a second squad to advance unnoticed and destroy the position clearing the way for his unit to advance."With no hope of surviving the veritable hail of machine gun fire which he deliberately drew onto himself," Pendleton got within 10 yards of the machine gun before being killed, the Medal of Honor citation reads.

He was 26 years old

National Medal of Honor Day.

Congress has designated March 25th of each year as NATIONAL MEDAL OF

HONOR DAY, a day dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients. (Public Law

101-564)

The date of March 25th was chosen because it was on March 25 (1863) that the first Medals of Honor were presented...to six members of Andrews' Raiders.

It is our hope that this event will be conducted yearly to honor all Medal of Honor recipients.